Pachydactylus austeni, also known commonly as Austen's thick-toed gecko or Austen's gecko, is a species of small thick-toed gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is indigenous to the western coast of South Africa.[3]
| Pachydactylus austeni | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Gekkonidae |
| Genus: | Pachydactylus |
| Species: | P. austeni
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pachydactylus austeni | |
Etymology
editThe specific name, austeni, is in honour of English topographer Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen.[4]
Habitat, behaviour and diet
editThe natural habitat of P. austeni is coastal dunes and alluvial sands, at elevations up to 600 m (2,000 ft).[1] It lives in a tiny burrow that it digs in the sand, and it leaves its burrow at night to forage for small insects among the dune vegetation.[3]
Description
editP. austeni has a smooth, colourful body with large eyes and conspicuous yellow or white eyelids.[3]
Reproduction
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Bates, M.F.; Bauer, A.M. (2018). "Pachydactylus austeni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T196930A115662983. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T196930A115662983.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b Species Pachydactylus austeni at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ a b c "CapeNature". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Pachydactylus austeni, p. 13).
Further reading
edit- Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Pachydactylus austeni, pp. 250–251 + Plate 82).
- Hewitt J (1923). "Descriptions of Two New S. African Geckos of the Genus Pachydactylus ". Annals of the Natal Museum 5: 67–71. (Pachydactylus austeni, new species, pp. 67–69 + Plate IV, figures 1 & 2).
- Loveridge A (1947). "Revision of the African Lizards of the Family Gekkonidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 98 (1): 1–469 + Plates 1–7. (Pachydactylus austeni, p. 349).
- Rösler H (2000). "Kommentierte Liste der rezent, subrezent und fossil bekannten Geckotaxa (Reptilia: Gekkonomorpha)". Gekkota 2: 28–153. (Pachydactylus austeni, p. 98). (in German).
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